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How to Reduce Fossil Fuel Reliance in the Small Isles: a Study Into the Potential of Inter-Island Connections

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How to Reduce Fossil Fuel Reliance in the Small Isles: a Study Into the Potential of Inter-Island Connections Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering HOW TO REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL RELIANCE IN THE SMALL ISLES: A STUDY INTO THE POTENTIAL OF INTER-ISLAND CONNECTIONS Author: Heather McLarty Supervisor: Dr Nicolas Kelly A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirement of the degree Master of Science Sustainable Engineering: Renewable Energy Systems and the Environment 2017 Copyright Declaration Copyright Declaration ThisThis thesis thesis is the is resultthe result of the of author’sthe author’s original original research. research. It has It beenhas been compose compdosed by the by the authorauthor and andhas hasnot notbeen been previously previously submitted submitted for examinationfor examination, which, which has ledhas toled the to the awardaward of a ofdegree. a degree. The Thecopyright copyright of thisof thisthesis thesis belongs belongs to theto authorthe author under under the termsthe terms of the of Unitedthe United KingdomKingdom Copyright Copyright Acts Acts as qualified as qualified by Universityby University of Strathclyd of Strathce lydeRegulation Regulation 3.50. 3.50. DueDue acknowledgement acknowledgement must must always always be made be made of the of usethe ofuse any of anymaterial material contained contained in, in, or derivedor derived from, from, this thisthesis. thesis. Signed:Signed: DatDate: e: 25/08/201705/08/2017 Abstract This dissertation looks at the renewable energy potential in the Small Isles of Eigg, Muck, Rum and Canna: these islands are not connected to the mainland’s transmission grid network, thus renewable sources, and diesel power generation, are heavily relied on. The feasibility of whether these islands can provide a secure electricity supply from their own renewable resources has been investigated, indicating that it is possible for the Small Isles to be independently sustainable with inter-island connections. This has many benefits and drawbacks, which are discussed in this paper. In order to measure the feasibility of inter-island connections within the Small Isles, each of the islands was modelled using HOMER software. Additionally, HOMER was used to model the islands as if they were inter-connected, by summing up the loads of each island and using this value as an input. This enabled a comparison to be made between the individual islands, and the scenario of them being connected by a local grid network. A cost analysis was been conducted: the inter-island connections and additional renewable generation systems’ costs have been considered in the context of small- scale communities. In this context, it was appreciated that budgets are small, and therefore major investments are often not possible without major funding grants. Social and environmental aspects have also been considered. It is hoped that this investigation will be useful in indicating whether or not island connections would be beneficial in matching the electricity demand of islands with local renewable generation supply. The methodology used for this project can be taken and applied to other groups of islands that are isolated from the mainland grid connection to achieve a secure, clean energy supply. 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr Nicolas Kelly, for his support throughout the duration of this dissertation. I would also like to acknowledge other members of staff, including the Sustainable Engineering: Renewable Energy Systems and the Environment course director Paul Tuohy, for his encouragement and advice over the course of the project and for the duration of the Masters course. I would like to thank the Scottish Power Foundation for sponsoring me throughout the entirety of this Masters course. Because of their support, I have been able to pursue this innovative course and therefore become more qualified in becoming an engineer. A special thank you goes to the residents of the Small Isles for giving their time and answering questions about my project when I conducted my site visits. Particularly, I would like to thank Donald MacKenzie, from the Isle of Canna, for his insights. I also give thanks to my family, course colleagues and friends for their advice and support over the course of writing this dissertation. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS NOMENCLATURE ................................................................................................................ 8 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 12 2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ........................................................................................... 14 2.1 Aim ..................................................................................................................................... 14 2.2 Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 14 3 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................... 16 3.1 Background to the Small Isles .................................................................................. 16 3.1.1 Energy Across The Small Isles .......................................................................................... 17 3.1.2 Isle of Eigg ................................................................................................................................. 20 3.1.3 Isle of Rum ................................................................................................................................ 21 3.1.4 Isle of Muck ............................................................................................................................... 22 3.1.5 Isle of Canna ............................................................................................................................. 23 3.2 Remote Islands Outside of Scotland ....................................................................... 23 3.3 Demand/SuPPly Matching ......................................................................................... 25 3.4 Technology Available .................................................................................................. 28 3.4.1 Generation Technology ....................................................................................................... 28 3.4.2 Storage Technology .............................................................................................................. 28 3.4.3 Transmission and Distribution Cables ......................................................................... 29 3.5 Microgrids ....................................................................................................................... 30 4 METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 34 4.1 Collection of Information and Data ........................................................................ 34 4.2 Modelling of the Small Isles ....................................................................................... 34 4.3 Validation of Model and Results .............................................................................. 35 5 4.4 Evaluation of Results ................................................................................................... 35 4.5 Conclude and Recommend ........................................................................................ 35 5 MODELLING ................................................................................................................ 36 5.1 Background to HOMER Software ............................................................................. 36 5.2 AssumPtions ................................................................................................................... 37 5.2.1 Loading ....................................................................................................................................... 37 5.2.2 Heating ....................................................................................................................................... 39 5.2.3 Transport .................................................................................................................................. 40 5.3 Renewable Resources ................................................................................................. 40 5.3.1 Solar Global Horizontal Irradiance Data ...................................................................... 41 5.3.2 Hydrokinetic Resources ...................................................................................................... 42 5.3.3 Wind Resources ...................................................................................................................... 43 5.3.4 Technology Selection ........................................................................................................... 45 5.4 HOMER Simulation ....................................................................................................... 45 6 RESULTS ...................................................................................................................... 48 6.1 Individual Island Models ............................................................................................ 48 6.1.1 Isle of Eigg ................................................................................................................................. 49 6.1.2 Isle of Rum ...............................................................................................................................
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